


Protège-Moi (Protect Me)

by aegicheezu



Category: K-pop, SHINee
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Coping, Coping With A Death, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dom/sub Undertones, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Flashbacks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, OnTae, Polyamory, Sharing a Bed, jongminkey, minkey, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-29 04:00:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15064676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aegicheezu/pseuds/aegicheezu
Summary: The boys have been preparing for this comeback night and day – with the release of their 3rd “Episode” looming large, Taemin has taken to returning to Onew’s room in the dorms more and more. Nobody questions it; sometimes the maknae just needs to feel shielded from things. They all need that, these days.





	Protège-Moi (Protect Me)

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic that's been in my heart for some months now; it's how I imagine the boys are coping with things since December. Some scenes are inspired by info/clips from their recent variety shows, and of course from Hello Baby.

Piling into the company car, Minho in the driver’s seat – he’d lost three rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors -  the boys exhaled at last, away from the crowds. Tonight’s taping and fanmeet had gone well; though, if pressed, any one of the four boys would rather have had the day off if given the choice. Promoting their comeback album had been exhausting; having to put on smiling faces day in and day out when their hearts were breaking, that was the hardest part. With _Episode 3_ of _The Story of Light_ due to be released in a few days, the company had really ramped up their variety show appearances – and it was beginning to take its toll on the boys. The ride was fairly quiet; Minho and Key chatting away about everything and nothing in the front, leaving Taemin and Onew resting on each other in the back. Minho looked at them through the rearview mirror and smiled softly – Taemin’s head resting on the leader’s shoulder, eyes closed. Onew gently tracing circles on Taemin’s arm as their youngest dozed off.

“Are we all going home together?” Minho asked quietly, so as not to wake Taemin. Key and Onew nodded in agreement. These days, the boys stayed together in the dorm more often – indeed, it had become more frequent since December of last year. They didn’t really talk about it; they understood that now was just not the time to be living apart. They had even taken to all sleeping together, like they’d used to do in the early days, lying side-by-side; something about being able to reach out and grab hold of another member’s t-shirt or waist in the night was of great comfort to each of them.

Finally reaching the dorms, Key glanced in the backseat and gave Onew a look as if to say, “who’s going to wake him?” but Onew just waved it off.

“I’ll take him in,” he mouthed, unbuckling both their belts and opening the car door. He gently ruffled Taemin’s hair, only barely stirring the young man. “Taeminnie, it’s time to go to bed,” he whispered, sing-song. Taemin fell into Onew’s outstretched arms and allowed himself to be gently pulled from the car. This, too, was a familiar thing – Taemin was easily carried, being so light; Onew took the sleepy maknae in his arms and smiled a little as Taemin’s hold tightened around him – _so you’re not really asleep, are you, Taeminnie?_ He mused. “Let’s go to bed,” he sighed, contented with the day they had finished.

The boys wished each other a good night and went to their respective rooms, with the exception of Taemin. He’d slipped into Onew’s room after about half an hour, something he had begun to do a lot recently. As soon as Onew heard the familiar footsteps approaching his closed bedroom door, he turned onto his side and shifted the blanket so that it was easier for Taemin to climb into his bed. The door slid open noiselessly.

“Come here, baby,” Onew whispered, a sweetness in his low voice. Taemin obeyed and slipped into the bed, curling instinctively into the older man’s embrace.

“Today was so hard,” Taemin admitted, whispering into Onew’s neck. “It was so hard, Jinki-ah.” He wrapped his arms around Onew’s waist and sighed, as if something weighed heavily on his mind.

“What’s up, Taeminnie?” Onew kissed the top of Taemin’s head and rubbed his back as they lay together. “You did so well today. You worked hard.”

Taemin thought for a moment. “You always say that,” he whispered. “Always.” Though he didn’t mean it, there was almost a bitterness in his voice. He immediately regretted speaking that way to his leader.

Onew didn’t seem to notice Taemin’s tone; and if he did, he did not react. Instead, he smiled softly. “Because it’s true,” Onew took Taemin’s chin in his hand so that they looked at each other. “I will always be here to take care of you when you are tired.”

Taemin’s eyes betrayed a deep sadness as Onew spoke. “Do you promise me that, Jinki-ah?” he bit his lip, to keep tears from falling. “Do you promise me that you will always be here?”

Onew wrapped his arms around the maknae and squeezed hard, entwining their legs together. “Of course I promise,” he replied emphatically. “I will never leave your side. Not ever,” he buried his head in Taemin’s neck. “I won’t ever leave you. I promise you.”

The pain of their loss came and went in waves, these days – sometimes, the boys could go three, four days at a time without crying about missing Jonghyun; tonight, however, was not one of those nights. Onew felt a wave of grief crashing against his heart and he began to weep as he held tightly to his beloved maknae, a thousand thoughts invading his mind, begging to be heard. _I will go on,_ he repeated to himself. _I will continue to live every day, if only to protect you._ He hugged Taemin tighter.

“Please don’t cry, Jinki-ah,” Taemin squeezed Onew tightly, running his fingers through his now-short hair trying to soothe him. “You worked hard today, too.” He kissed Onew’s forehead. “If it’s your job to look after me, then it’s my job to look after you,” he reasoned, drying his leader’s cheeks with the sleeve of his pajama top. “Please don’t cry.” He kissed Onew softly.

Onew sniffed and tried to calm himself down. After all, it had been Taemin who crawled into his bed looking for comfort, not the other way around. “Tell me something sweet, Taeminnie,” he said after a while, pulling the younger man on top of him so that he himself lay flat on his back, the maknae resting against his chest.

Taemin thought for a moment. “Do you remember when we were shooting _Hello Baby_?”

Onew laughed. “Of course, I do,” he replied quickly. “Will you tell me a story about that time?” He twirled pieces of Taemin’s hair in his hand, calming his heart.

Taemin hummed, thinking. “Jinki-ah, do you want me to tell you the story of when I realized I really loved you?” He looked up at the older man and smiled.

Onew smiled back and pulled Taemin up closer so that their faces were less than an inch apart. He kissed Taemin softly, slowly. “Alright baby,” he replied, smiling against the maknae’s lips. “Tell me the story of how you fell in love with me.” Even though he knew the story – Taemin told it to him every year on their anniversary – he loved hearing it.

“Well,” Taemin began, kissing Onew’s cheek and resting his head against the other man’s chest. “The other members had gone out grocery shopping and left you and I in charge of breakfast,” he began, a smile in his voice. “But as soon as they left with Yoogeun, we went right back to sleep. You had wrapped around me like a koala, remember? And when you sleep, you’re so hard to wake up…” Taemin poked Onew’s stomach, making him laugh. “Anyway, I woke up before you did and I tried to wake you, but you just weren’t going for it. So, after a while, I gave up trying to wake you and just ended up watching you sleep.”

“You know, I think I was faking it,” Onew admitted, grinning. He kissed Taemin’s nose in apology.

“I always suspected!” Taemin shot back, smiling. “Anyway, watching you sleeping – or pretending to sleep, anyway – I really got to look at you closely. With you wrapped around me like that… I started seeing you totally differently. I realized then just how much I really did love you, Jinki-ah.” He looked Onew in the eye for a moment and shifted his weight so that he perched himself over the older man. He gingerly straddled Onew’s hips and kissed him softly, allowing his leader to wrap his arms around his slim frame and pull him closer.

“Tell me again, Taeminnie,” Onew whispered. “I need to hear it again, tonight. Please.” Onew kissed him back.

Something in the way Onew asked him that made Taemin’s heart hurt. “I love you, Jinki-ah,” Taemin said softly. “I love you.” He kissed along Onew’s jaw and neck, as if sealing his words into the older man’s skin like a spell. “I love you,” he said again.

Onew took Taemin’s face in his hands and pressed their foreheads together. “I love you, Taeminnie,” he replied. “I love you more than anything in this world.” He kissed him slowly, gently parting the younger man’s lips with his tongue and deepening the kiss.

*

In the next room, Minho and Key lay side by side, fingers entwined and Key’s head resting on Minho’s chest. “Do you have a cute story like that, Minho?” Key asked softly. “A story about how you fell in love with me?” The question, though one that made Key smile, was bittersweet – after all, in December they had lost their boyfriend. Key turned onto his side and propped his head up on his hand, gently smoothing Minho’s hair.

“You know Kibummie, I don’t think I ever told you this,” Minho said after a while, eyes smiling. “But Jjong loved you first. He wanted us all to be together so badly,” he tilted his head upward and kissed Key’s nose. “He loved you so much, you know.” He sighed. “Do you think…” he asked, hesitant. “Do you think we’ll be alright, just you and I?”

Key pulled Minho close and rubbed comforting circles on his bare back. “All I know now,” he sighed, “is that you and I are here,” he kissed Minho’s forehead. “And I love you. And you love me,” he smiled and looked Minho in the eye as if confirming the fact. He smiled back. “So… it has to be enough. Yes,” he nodded to himself. “It’s enough.”

“I remember how excited I felt when you kissed me for the first time,” Minho sighed, remembering it well. “I blushed so hard, I thought you were pranking me.”

“But I wasn’t,” Key added. “We loved you so much, Minho. I always wanted us all to be together.”

“I know,” he replied, curling his fingers gently around the back of Key’s neck and bringing their faces together. “We’ll always be together, you know,” he reassured him. “You and I. From now on.”

Another kiss.

*

Morning came, as it always did – and the four men emerged from their bedrooms, their socked feet making sliding noises along the wood floor. The space was filled with the warm glow of June’s yellow sun, almost mocking them with its brightness. Hugging each other good morning, they filed into the kitchen – Minho and Key sitting close together. Onew always brewed coffee for them while they sat, still sleepy, waiting. Today though, Taemin was in a clingy mood and held fast to Onew’s waist, like a child. Onew gently laughed at the maknae’s desire to be held close, and of course indulged him. Key and Minho held hands on the table, gently stroking each other’s fingers as they looked on in silence. Once the coffee was done, Onew and Taemin joined the pair at the table, sliding a fifth cup towards Jonghyun’s chair. This, too, was part of their new morning rituals. Each of them snuck a longing look at the empty chair when they thought the other members were not looking, and ate breakfast in – not an unhappy, though heavy – silence.

This was the way things were, now; different, but not broken. The boys faced each new day like this, knowing that the love they had for each other was strong enough to keep them going. Some days would be worse than others, but together, they would be able to face it.


End file.
